Twice Upon a Time
by Rohesia
Summary: When you wish upon a ladybird ... Rosie, July and Ash are sucked into the marvellous world of Disney movies. Sure, Rosie's obsessed with villains, July is an absolute fangirl and Ash really couldn't care less  - but what could possibly go wrong?
1. Tick Tick Tick and Ladybirds

Ash Hated Geography. It was official. If there was a list that had all the natural laws of the world on it - gravity pulls you to the centre of the Earth and suchlike - then on it, just below 'Water Is Wet' it would say 'Ash Hates Geography'.

Ashlyn Mah sighed mournfully and stared blankly at the blackboard in front of her, not bothering to focus on it properly or to even give off the impression that she was. It was a Friday afternoon, last period, and the bell would ring in - she checked her watch - three minutes. Three _l-o-n-g_ minutes.

_Tick. Tick_. _Tick_.

Ash sighed again.

Rosie grinned wildly as she grabbed the basketball out of the air, dribbled up the court and passed to a team-mate. Running ahead, said team-mate passed back to her, she turned and shot.

Another basket for Rosemary Stevens. She glanced at the clock on the gym wall, two minutes to end of class. She could easily shoot another basket in that time.

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

She backed away, towards the middle of the court, and began marking a member of the opposite team.

July smiled softly as her fingers danced over the black and white keys. She loved music and to be able to miss out on Chemistry for piano practice was a dream come true. She didn't bother about the time, for one thing there were no watches or clocks near her - and for another, she was so lost in her music that the school could be in fire and she wouldn't notice a thing. July Ambre didn't know it but it was only sixty seconds until the final bell rang out. If she'd known then she would have been horrified, she didn't want her time with her music to end so soon.

_Tick_. _Tick_. _Tick._

She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she struck the wrong key, her hands were so small and dainty that it was hard for her to play properly, she'd have to find a way around that - but now the bell was ringing and she was gathering up her things with a small sigh.

Ash let out small 'yes!' of triumph under her breath as class finally ended. Her books and pencils had been packed up for the last fifteen minutes so she simply swung her bag onto her back, smiled at the boy holding the classroom door open for her and waltzed out into the corridor - which was thronging with so many students that if one stood still then one would be quite likely knocked to the floor and trampled upon.

Rosie carelessly chucked the basketball into the gym cupboard and sauntered off to get changed, sticking her pierced tongue out at the stuck-up blonde girl Sophia - her current nemesis - on the way. She never did score that last basket - but it hardly mattered. Her team had easily won anyway. She changed back into her school uniform quickly, slipped her feet into clunky sunshine-yellow high heels and let her waist-length hair down from the high ponytail she'd had it in for Gym.

July darted through the maze of corridors, always moving into the spaces, always being just where someone else was not. Her method of travel was much quicker and more efficient than that of the teenagers in the midst of the crowd, shoving everyone along. She had always compared the packed hallways to a salmon run, one fast-moving flow of bodies, impossible to escape. So if you can't go against them… then go with them. She moved swiftly through the school, slipping through doors just before they shut and making sure to never ever trip herself up.

Ash reached the meeting spot first and settled in the grass, underneath the spreading branches of a large beech tree. She began picking daisy to make a chain and she hummed to herself gently as if unaware of the group of boys watching her.

Rosie was the next arrival, dumping her things down with an irritated snort, "Hey there, Lyn," she said, smirking, "no need to act so prissy. If they're interesting ya then it's not 'cause ya look like a perfect lil darlin'. It's because they think ya gonna put out."

Ash huffed in annoyance, "I've no idea what you're talking about," she replied snippily. She glanced at the boys out of the corner of her eye, "Besides," she began shredding her daisy chain, "none of them are that good-looking, anyway."

Rosie rolled her eyes, ran a hand through her black and green hair and had a spontaneous coughing fit that sounded suspiciously like '_slut_'.

The coming argument was luckily averted by the appearance of July, who sat down in the grass with all the grace and poise of a princess and began inspecting the large ladybird on a buttercup near her.

"Lyjoo!" exclaimed Rosie gleefully, "How ya doin'?"

July smiled at the older girl, "Pretty well, thank you," she replied, laughing slightly. July was the youngest of the trio and Rosie's antics never failed to amuse her as July was as childish and naïve as a girl half her age. She was small - tiny for her age, actually - and slender as a reed with an innocent face, extraordinarily long dark brown hair and wide-set blue eyes, surrounded by the longest thickest eyelashes you'd ever see. July was obsessed with Disney films and it was this that bound Rosie and the doll-like girl so closely.

But, while July admired the heroes and princesses, Rosie, on the other hand, nurtured a great love for villains. This random and wannabe-evil girl was short but curvy with both eyebrow and tongue pierced. Her large dark brown eyes always sparkled with mischief, her skin was eerily pale no matter how much time she spent outside and her hair was long and black with the ends dyed a ghostly green.

The oldest, and arguably most sensible, of them was Ashlyn who everyone called Ash - aside from Rosie who called her Lyn to annoy her. She was easily the tallest of them all and skinny with it. Her tanned skin was smooth and unblemished, her eyes were the darkest brown imaginable and her hair ruler-straight and ending at her upper neck. Ash's one flaw was that when she saw a boy she just couldn't help but flirt.

All three friends were sixteen, although July's birthday had only been a few weeks ago, and all three loved each other beyond all reason - although the way Ash and Rosie bickered all the time made it very hard to believe.

It was a good thing that they were all so very loyal … otherwise in might have proved their undoing in the challenges to come.

July gently touched her child-sized finger to the buttercup and gasped with delight as the ladybird crawled onto her fingernail. She examined the red and black bug carefully, not looking up until Rosie shrieked.

"You gotta make a wish, Lyjoo, you just gotta!"

July tilted her head to one side thoughtfully and smiled. "I wish," she began, too low for her friends to hear, "Oh, I wish..." she trailed off.

"_I wish I could meet all the Disney characters!_"


	2. New Clothes and Bad Verse

The ground suddenly lurched beneath them and July let out a gasp of shock, "What was that?"

Surprisingly, Rosie didn't look the least bit frightened - but she sprang to her feet and was looking around aggressively, as if searching for someone to fight, "I dunno, but whatever it was is gonna wish it ain't done that by tha time I've found it!"

Ash opened her mouth but, before she could say a single word, there was another gut-wrenching lurch and a feeling felt by all three - the ground was tipping up beneath them. July screamed, Ash shrieked and Rosie let out a great yell of anger but, for all their noise, it didn't stop and, as soon as they blinked, they found themselves somewhere else entirely.

"What _was_ that?" Ash exclaimed, jumping up, "and why on Earth are we wearing these ridiculous outfits?" She motioned to the area around them - which appeared to be some sort of forest clearing.

July stood too, and turned in a circle, admiring the white dress she was now in; "I think they're pretty! And we obviously are here because of my wish!" she glanced around, "Although, I'm not altogether too sure where _here_ is…"

Rosie looked down at her self, disgusted, "Well, ya coulda got us some better gear!" she snorted at the pale blue dress and brown slippers she was wearing, "This stuff is _sick_!" Then she yelped, grabbing a curl of hair and pulling it in front of her eyes, "My hair! It's not green anymore! Oh, that's jus' _fabulous_…"

Ash rolled her eyes at Rosie's supposed 'fashion-crisis' and smoothed out the bodice of her moss-green dress - and then gasped as July's words sunk in, "Your _wish_?"

July blushed, "Well, yes. I wished that I could meet all the Disney characters." She looked slightly anxious, "I'm very sorry, Ash, I didn't know that you'd come along too!"

Rosie stopped panicking immediately, "Disney? We're in a Disney film? I'll be able to meet Hades? 'Nd Scar? 'Nd Ursula 'nd Facilier 'nd Cruella De Vil?" she looked absolutely delighted at the thought, "We've gotta find out what movie this is!"

Ash completely ignored Rosie and appealed to July, "You wished to be in a Disney film? What on earth possessed you and made you want to do a thing like that?"

July cast a hurt look towards her friend, "I've always wanted to talk to Disney people and now, because of my wish, I have the chance. I'd have thought you'd be happy for me!"

Ash looked pained, "I am… I guess … but why'd you have to drag me into this! And Rosie is probably going to work it so that all the villains win!"

"Lyn, you're a genius!" Rosie cried, dancing crazily around the clearing, "I'll make tha villains rule alla Disney!"

July gasped, "But you can't! Oh, Rosie, you can't! What'll happen to the princesses and the heroes if they lose? You really can't!"

Rosie rolled her eyes, "Look, Lyjoo, those saps have already had their 'happily ever after'. I jus' wanta see what it'd be like if tha villains gotta chance at winnin'! C'mon, Lyjoo, gimme a _chance_! Besides, what's tha point in makin' a wish ta meet Disney peeps 'nd then ta go 'round not changin' things!"

"Well…" Ash began unexpectedly, speaking to July, "I think we should give Rosie a chance - but it wouldn't be fair unless the good guys got given the same chance. So what we can do? The solution is rather obvious, you know. In the films where Rosie likes the villains we can let her go off and worship them and advise them - though, I doubt they'll listen - and we'll go off and help the heroes, so that they'll have a chance too. It'll be like a game!"

Rosie flipped her long - now plain black - hair out of her eyes, "Well, it's hardly fair if ya both are against me…" she grinned, "ya want I should tie one of ma hands behind ma back?"

Ash snorted, "Yeah, right. Anyways, we won't be allowed to say anything straight out - more give hints and things - and we also have to keep on the lookout for people who can give us information about why we're here. We obviously can't ask a princess or someone like that - but maybe some sort of enchanter might know? From what I hear from you two, there's plenty of them in Disney movies."

July smiled and nodded, "Ok, I'll do it. Will you, Rosie?"

"Anythin' to meet tha villains… this is gonna be _wicked_!" she grinned in anticipation, "I can't wait … it's like a nightmare come true."

Ash sighed at Rosie and then smiled at July's questioning look, "Don't worry, July. I'm in too."

And it was then that the ground gave another frightening lurch and all three girls grabbed onto each other. They waited, silent and still, for several minutes before concluding that the danger had passed.

"Whooo-eee!" Rosie laughed shakily, "What was that?"

Ash furrowed her brow, "I think it had something to do with the deal we made - oh, I don't know. But it seems to have gone."

"Gotcha. Right, so, what movie? Any ideas?" Rosie looked around, as if expecting to see a signpost of some sort.

"It's Snow White."

Ash looked shocked, "What?"

July spoke again, quite innocently, unaware of the importance of what she'd just said, "It's Snow White, obviously. That was the first proper Disney film, after all."

Rosie scowled, "Brilliant. The Queen in that - in _this_ - is justa vain bitch. No use helpin' her, she deserves ta lose," then the pale girl began to grin, "but we _can_ havva lookie at that magic mirror o' hers. It should give us some answers!"

So, without further ado, they set off through the woods, in search of the Wicked Queen's castle and, ultimately, the Magic Mirror. The castle was easy enough to find - but it appeared to be completely deserted. So Snow White, in ragged dress and wooden clogs, sweeping the floor and no Wicked Queen, pointed crown and high-collared dress, running around and making potions with her cloak billowing dramatically after her.

But one thing the girls had noticed was how intense everything was. No place on earth could be so singularly bright or completely dark - back home, all were a mixture of the two.

"It's for dramatic effect," Rosie had told the others wisely and neither July nor Ash the knowledge to say anything more so they just nodded as if they understood perfectly.

At first they crept through the castle and jumped at every shadow, terrified the Queen would step out of some nook or cranny and destroy them, - but they soon gained confidence and were running around the castle, sliding down the banisters and leaning out the windows as if they had lived there all their lives.

"O! look!" exclaimed July, skipping across the courtyard, "it's the wishing well!" and here she began to sing, quite prettily, "Make a wish into the well, that'll you have to do, and if you hear it echoing your wish will soon come true!" she leant it, "I'm wishing…"

"I'm wishing…" the well echoed back.

"For-" but here Ash dragged her away, "Let go!"

"We've had quite enough wishes from you, July," Ash told her sternly and July sighed but seemed to be amiable to the suggestion that she stopped.

"Hey!" a loud cry pierced the air and the two girls jumped, "HEY! Lyn! July! Get up here!" Rosie was leaning out of a large window and flailing her hands excitedly.

Ash and July sprinted up the stairs, Ash almost tripped on the top step but July managed to haul her onto the landing safely, and burst into the room. Rosie was standing in the middle of a darkened room, looking very proud of herself.

"I present ta ya … tha Mirror!" she gestured to a ornate looking glass hanging on the opposite wall.

Ash grinned, "Excellent!"

"So…" Rosie continued, "Let's get some answers!"

July shook her head, "We have to do it properly, we can't just _ask _it. It's wrong!" She stepped up to the Mirror, "Magic Mirror, of greatest might, please tell us where to find Snow White!"

And the Mirror replied, "I'm sorry but you are too late, it's already past the fatal date. The Queen has killed her, there's no girl left, so of her presence you are bereft."

Rosie snorted, "Oh, please. 'Worst verse ever' would be an understatement."

July looked wounded, "I was trying my best…"

Ash didn't seem too worried about this exchange, "So Snow White is dead. Seems we've messed up the movie."

"What?" Rosie asked incredulously, "Haven't ya watched tha film? Tha Queen kills Snow White 'nd then tha Prince revives her 'nd then Snow White 'nd the Prince go off together 'nd live happily ever after. So it jus' means tha film is basically over."

"Which makes sense," added July, "as I never really liked Snow White, I always just wanted to see the wishing well."

Rosie looked shocked, "The magic's caterin' to ya, personally-like? No fair!"

"Well, it was my wish…"

Rosie shrugged, "Ok, fine, that makes sense. Now, what movie is next? 'Cause I don't think we'll be in this one much longer, y'know?"

July looked contemplative, "Well, I've never really like Pinocchio … and I've never watched Fantasia… then there's Dumbo - but I don't really like that one either. Bambi, I think. I'll try to get us in at the start, it is annoying, missing out on half of the film."

"Ok then…" replied Ash, nonplussed.

Rosie opened her mouth to make some sarcastic remark and then shrieked with laughter as the ground shuddered, "Looks like Snow has got herself a Happily Ever After! Please fasten ya seatbelts 'nd keep ya arms and legs attached at all times - it's gonna be a bumpy ride!"

And, with this nonsensical statement, the world went black.


	3. Quick Red Foxes and NotSoLazy Dogs

When the girls next opened their eyes they were no longer in the castle but rather in a gorgeous - but most definitely not enchanted - forest, abundant in squirrels and cute little duckies… and seemingly profuse in trees and flowers and just vegetation in general.

"Yup, completely 'nd utterly Bambi," Rosie remarked drily.

Ash shrieked, "Rosie! You're a fox!"

Rosie looked down at herself, turned around in a circle, examined her feet, fur and tail and then grinned. "Kinky."

A sweet melodic voice rang out from the branches of a nearby tree, "Well, Ash, you're a badger so you can hardly rebuke Rosie for not being human."

Rosie cackled, "See, Lyn, I always told ya if ya din't stop badgerin' me ya'd turn inta one - 'nd ya did!"

Ash wrinkled her badger-nose, "I don't believe you have ever mentioned me turning into a badger before in your life. Now, come down here, July, let me see what you've turned into."

"Well, I def'netly thought 'bout it," Rosie replied, completely unabashed, as a delicately pretty bluebird carefully fluttered its way down to the ground.

"I can fly!" the bluebird exclaimed with great glee, "Oh Ash, Rosie, I can really fly!" July - for indeed it was she - seemed entirely enamoured with this new skill.

Rosie looked beyond jealous, "No fair! I wanna fly!" The fox settled down and put her head on her forepaws, clearly sulking.

Ash rolled her eyes, "Oh please. You just aren't the bird type, Rosie. Being a fox suits you _much_ more."

"Right!" Rosie leapt up, bad mood vanished, "Any-un know where I could finda lazy dog to jump over?"

There was a long-suffering sigh from Ash, "Rosie, you are a _red_ fox. The phrase specifically states that it is a 'quick _brown_ fox'."

"Yeah, but if ya change it to 'tha quick fox jumps over tha lazy brown dog' then it still works 'nd I'll be able to fulfil it. It'll be like a prophecy or somethin'!" Rosie countered masterfully but her terrible grin made it clear to all that she wasn't taking this debate the least bit seriously.

"Oh shut up," Ash snapped back before turning to July, "What do you think then?"

"I think Rosie should stay away from hounds whether they are lazy or not. After all, in Bambi the hounds belong to the humans and the humans are evil," July looked distraught; "after all, everyone knows what they did."

Ash (who didn't know what they did) raised her face to the heavens, "please… give me strength…" she muttered. She closed her eyes and counted to ten before trying again, "I meant what you think about the film? Have you any idea about where we are or even _when_ we are? What did you want to see and who do you want to talk to in Bambi?"

July looked pensive, "I like Bambi although there isn't much to do with true love in it. It's quite a quiet story, I suppose, except from when the hunters came. We're obviously in the forest where it takes place - but there aren't many landmarks in here. I think this is the spring; I don't want to have to see Bambi and his mother together and know what'll happen. I'd like to be able to talk to Flower and Thumper but really I just wanted to be able to see the place where Bambi lives. It really is a _very_ beautiful forest."

"So the only reason we're here is because July enjoys Scenery Porn," Ash mumbled to herself, "Swell. Just swell. Oh well…" she heaved her new body to its feet with some difficulty, "We'd better get going… Come on, you two, look sprightly!" Ash promptly fell over.

Rosie sniggered and let out a coughing fit that, coincidentally, sounded rather similar to 'hypocrite'. Even July let out a little twitter of a giggle.

Ash glared at the pair, "how come you've adapted to your bodies so fast?" she whined.

Rosie shrugged and began gambolling playfully, leaping over logs and chasing her own tail as July, singing her tiny birdie heart out, soared overhead.

Ash snorted and began to make her slow way into the forest, pretending not to notice as July flew past her with Rosie in hot pursuit.

_Just like a bird on the wing_

_Things always seem light when_

"Wait!" yelped Ash suddenly.

July stopped in midair and Rosie made skid marks along the forest floor as she tried to slow herself down.

Rosie raised an eyebrow although how she retained her eyebrows while in fox-form is rather a puzzlement. Isn't Disney Animation wonderful?

"Can't you hear something?" Ash panted. The three girls listened hard.

_You're chipper and bright_

_So let's get together and sing_

_Sing, sing, sing_

"Oh no…" groaned Rosie, "twitter- pattin'!"

Ash looked confused, "Twitter-patting?"

Rosie nodded in confirmation and signalled to where a pair of rabbits were gazing at each other romantically, a soppy expression on both their faces, "Twitter-pattin'."

_Let's sing a song of love's folly_

_Let's twitter a tweet like the birds in May_

_Get into the mood and be merry today_

_Forget all your troubles and warble away_

July looked around in interest, "See? It is springtime! This is exactly the scene that happened after… well, you know."

"Bambi's mammy dyin'," Rosie muttered to Ash, "she doesn't like ta talk 'bout it. Best not ta mention it, really."

And then, without warning, the music cut off and the silence was eerier than even Rosie could have imagined.

"Man has come to forest!" July exclaimed, wide-eyed, "hide, quick, hide!" the little bluebird dived into the foliage of a tree and Ash and Rosie exchanged wary looks before realising the full impact of what had just been said.

Rosie yelped and scrambled into a nearby ditch, muttering something along the lines of "rotten stinking' hunters" and "oughta be shot themselves, see how they like it" as Ash spun around, panicking, and finally through herself into Rosie's ditch.

A horrified voice interrupted the terrified silence, "Listen! He's coming!"

"Tha pheasants…" whispered Rosie and Ash tried to shush without being heard herself.

"Hush!" rang out a voice, quite similar to the other one. It was obvious that it was of the same species.

"Be quiet!" warned a third.

The first voice sounded crazy with fear, "He's coming closer!"

The second again, it sounded surprisingly sensible for a pheasant, "Be calm, don't get excited."

"We'd better fly!"

"No! No, don't fly! Whatever you do, don't fly!" the voice sounded horrified.

"He's almost here, I can't stand it any longer!" There a flutter of feathers and then the harsh horrible sound of gunshot and a soft 'flump' as a pheasant-sized body hit the ground.

The animals _ran_.

Hounds were baying and Rosie could see July flying up ahead, she'd be fine, no-one would bother with a bluebird - but Ash was lumbering along behind, crashing through the forest so noisily and so agonisingly slowly that Rosie's heart seemed to go into overdrive in sympathy for her friend. "What flippin' prat thought it'd be a good idea ta make Lyn a badger…" she muttered and then called out to the poor girl behind her, "Just keep goin', make for tha river, tha forest'll go up in flames soon, watch out, I'll distract 'em!"

Rosie didn't bother with confirmation but dashed out towards the hounds on her long fox-legs, not sparing a thought for her previous conversation about jumping over one, and then hissed to herself as she saw the slavering dogs bounding towards Faline and spurs herself on faster - but she hadn't got within twenty-five foot of them when Bambi had encouraged the doe to jump and saved her.

Of course, this means the dogs are without a target and they'd been trained to go after foxes as well as deer and pheasants. The young vixen wheels around and begins sprinting in the opposite direction, calling upon her distant memories of the film to try and pinpoint the direction of the river but she can't remember a thing while her muscles are burning so much so she runs and runs and leap fallen trees and just keeps going. Rosie shies back as a burning branch falls in front of her and realises that the hounds have fallen back but she keeps onwards, a new - maybe even greater - danger dominating the forest.

And she runs on and eventually comes to the river and the cluster of soaked, miserable animals on the other side. With a great leap, she's over the gushing passage of water and landing lightly on the opposite bank, sliding slightly, pulling herself up, keeling over in a spot next to a badger and a bluebird.

"Happiest place in tha world?" she growled, "yeah, that'll be right."

The scene changes and the girls find themselves feeling fully energized and healthy again. They were in the forest again but it didn't look at all different from when they'd first arrived.

"What just happened?" Ash whispered, glancing around.

"The film's not over yet!" chirped July as quietly as she could.

The trio watched as other animals rushed past them - although they don't look scared in the least - and make a unanimous decision to follow. There is a short journey to a thicket where all species of bird and mammal are clustered around, hushing each other and looking delighted. In the thicket is a doe and her two fawns - Bambi's family, Ash supposed.

"Oh my!" gasped July.

"Well!" Rosie looked even more mischievous than normal.

A nearby raccoon seemed entranced, "Look!"

Ash raised a badger-eyebrow, "Two of them." She wondered absentmindedly how that'd play out.

The owl tittered to itself, "I don't believe I've never seen a more likely looking pair of fawns," it spoke to Faline, "Prince Bambi ought to be mighty proud."

_Love is a song that never ends_

_One simple theme repeating_

_Like the voice of a heavenly choir_

_Love's sweet music flows on._

And a badger, a fox and a bluebird let out gasps of surprise as the ground (or, in the bluebird's case, the air) tipped up beneath them.


End file.
